Thursday, September 12, 2013

Still Life (pt. 4)

Early on, during the Baroque period
which we are looking at now, objects presented in a still life carried the
distinct connotation of being the personal property of the artist. Whatever you saw in a painting he owned, and
that turned into a kind of status symbol.
No other genre of painting so conveniently provided a way to show off
all of your stuff to the wealthy patrons purchasing works of art at this
time. It may even bring you more
customers if you are suddenly thought to be both talented and wealthy.

Dutch still life paintings did
this; they celebrated the abundance of wealth that trade brought to Flanders
and the Netherlands. This is why many of
the objects you see in these Dutch paintings (some of them aren't) are exotic,
imported goods from other countries. The
market was flourishing during this time.

It was also the golden age of
horticulture. Tulips especially priced
high on the market as exotic finery more desired at that time than
jewelry. They were first introduced to
the Dutch from Constantinople. The word
"tulip" is itself a Turkish word, indicating a turban. Holland society quickly developed a demand
that soon grew broader than the supply, leading to a historic display of
exaggerated economic inflation. The
Dutch people's obsession with tulips literally became known as
"tulipmania."

Here is a source that can better
explain it than I can. This short
article on tulipmania was taken from the 2012-2013 exhibition called
"Significant Objects," from the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena,
California:

In a
century characterized by inflation, the prices fetched by the tulips through
sales and trade were constantly on the rise.
People eager to turn a profit flocked to the market to trade tulip
bulbs. Many gambled their homes, farm
animals or other goods in anticipation of fortune to be made on tulip
sales. The intensity of this speculation
appeared to operate outside the laws of common sense. The phenomenon has been aptly named
"tulipmania."

Particular
tulips brought extraordinary sums. The Semper Augustus, for example, was a rare
tulip, characterized by blood-red flames and streaks on its white petals. It sold for 1,000 guilders in 1623. By 1637, just before the crash of the market,
its price reached 10,000 guilders. (To
compare, the annual wage of a skilled laborer in Holland around this time was
200 to 400 guilders; a large house alongside a canal cost around 6,000 guilders).

In
1637, the combination of rumors about a failing market, and the fact that
buyers and sellers could no longer transact business at such inflated prices,
set off a selling spree. Within months,
the market for tulips collapsed.
Investors suffered heavy losses, and many went bankrupt. Today, historians view this widespread market
crash as "the first great speculation crisis of modern capitalism.

So.
A personal practicing exercise for artists, a display of wealth to
viewers, an indiscriminate way to employ new artistic techniques collectively,
a celebration of the successful trading industry, a cathartic expression of
your tulip fetish: these are all functions that still life paintings served in
the Netherlands during the Baroque period.
But apart from these mostly material purposes, still life art served a
deeper role in communicating metaphysical sub-meaning and religious truth. There is a lot of hidden meaning in most
Dutch still life paintings; and if you thought the Renaissance imagery was difficult
to follow, hold onto your berets.